Careful Mistakes
by Shotas and Lolis
Summary: Lloyd Garmadon keeps the balance between Life and Death in check, but recently he has noticed a dark evil threatening that balance. With the help of an old friend, he recruited a small team of Ninja just like his uncle did all those years ago. But they can't defeat this new evil without the Beacon. T for language, cartoon violence, and mild suggestive themes.
1. Acknowledgements

**You probably don't have to read this and should move on to the next chapter. Please, go on ahead!**

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_**Disclaimer**_: Ninjago and it's characters belong to Lego(I think). The Fourteenth's character Evangeline does not belong to me, but my OCs are. This fanfiction is not directly affiliated with "Lingering Shadows" and "The New Ninja". This is obviously a work of fiction and any similarity to real people or events are entirely coincidental.

Also, this probably unnecessary considering this is . But the OC part was probably necessary. I should get on with it. Sorry for being a sarcastic assbut ;o;

Normally, I don't like adding OCs to stories, but I made an exception with Ninjago. Lots of people do this in fanfiction in general, actually. But I hope it's not annoying, because it's not one OC (it was at first but I changed my mind) and most of the canon cast comes in much later. It'll make sense, I promise. Right, anyway, this character just kinda slapped me in the face when I was reading my friend's story "Lingering Shadows" (I came up with that title BTW!) and it went on from there. My OC was going to be just in that fanfiction but being the kinda independent perfectionist that is me, I needed things to go my way! Her story already had a lot of OCs anyway. _Sigh_. (But this character is still gonna be in there lol. I think everyone will like both versions. You should go read it! The New Ninja, I mean. It's better than it sounds... Maybe I'm bias.). So I made this fic! I'll have more notes explaining developing this character, as well as the story and other characters. I apologize in advance if they get annoying but I think the number will thin as the series goes. Probably. ^^;

Also, sorry for any language, violence, or suggestive themes, if that's not your cup of tea. The rating might change but most likely for language. I'm not a big fan of gory stuff so that shouldn't be a big deal (I think...) Mild suggestive themes would be like stuff in Rune Factory or some other video game like that, nothing serious. It's my story and I can do what I want. But if you don't like it, you can ignore it, because it probably won't be that big and isn't important. I don't know, I've never written erotica or anything so don't think like that.

I hope you enjoy!


	2. Chapter 1 Lost Then Found

I stared at my bare wrist, bandages in my hand. The scares haven't faded yet. How long, do you think, will I have to wait in this brutal world?

The wind blew my short, dark hair and moves my hood and unraveled bandages with it. I notice something wet on my wrist. It wasn't raining… I brought my hand up to my cheeks and found I was crying. I sighed and wrapped myself back up and stand. Why am I worried if he's gone now?

Turning, I find someone unfamiliar, but familiar all the same. A grown man, who is an enigma, but welcoming. It feels like a dream.

"Come with me."

"… What if they don't like me?"

"If they don't then they'll learn. These people are smart and forgiving. They're different"

I laugh half-heartedly. "I don't look like myself since he… I don't even dress the same. And for someone like me to suddenly join them – how can you be so sure?"

"You're practically one of the guys now." He smiles. I can't tell if he's joking, or if I want him to be kidding me or not. Then he narrows his eyes in an all-knowing way. "But such things… have no real importance, do they?"

My eyes widen slightly at this response and I pause. I take one last look back at the town – _my_ town – over the hillside before I give in.

"Alright."

He nods and begins to walk away. I follow, making a few glances back at the trees and the path. I wonder if anything that happened was in vain, or my fault.

Here's the thing about dreams – you can't make up people on your own. You have to have seen that person at least once. This makes me realize… Once you've met someone, you never really forget them. I may just be quoting a movie I've loved since childhood, but don't you think that's true? Memories can get lost, hard to reach, tucked away, or locked up, but they are never gone. We will always subconsciously remember.

So do you think this was a dream?


	3. Chapter 2 Not a Race

"Oi! Seff, get out of there! Bowser's on yer tail!" a young man shouted at the television screen. He stood up and turned and twisted with the remote in his hands. His messy, warm brown hair flew.

"I am calculating a way to defeat Mr. Kart," another boy with darker hair replied monotonously.

"Dude, for the last time, Mario's last name isn't 'Kart'. I don't think he has a last name."

"Is it 'Bros'" Seff chuckled, amused at his own joke.

On the screen, Toad passed the finish line, followed by Mario, Peach, Yoshi, and every other CPU.

"I win!" the brown-haired boy shouted and threw his fist in the air.

He looked back at his friend. Seff spoke monotonously even if he had the best human simulation software in existence. If it wasn't clear, Seff is a robot.

"You think you'd be able to catch up," the boy joked.

Seff shrugged. "Simulation cart driving is not my forte. I prefer handheld games."

"Is that so?" A light, fair voice interrupted.

"…Evangeline." Seff looked over his shoulder, behind the couch where the girl hovered over.

"Let's play PokéPark 2, then!" She smiled.

Evangeline had fiery red hair, not like your average ginger. Sometimes it appeared white or black, and you'd think your eyes were messing with you. It was up in a tight ponytail in the back, but her bangs often got in her face and she had locks of hair on each side of her hair cascading down in front. Evangeline was rather tall and slender, and her casual wear was a tee shirt and jean capris and sneakers.

Evangeline also had a split personality.

"Sure." Seff nodded. Did he seem a bit nervous? It was hard to tell.

"Yeah, okay." He boy shrugged. They finished the tournament just now anyway. Evangeline sure had weird taste, though.

"Huuh? What's this? Kita's seems more reasonable than usual." Evangeline leaned over the couch, glaring at him. She chuckled and pinched his cheeks. "Just kidding, kid."

"UuwaOioreh!" Kita swatted her hand away and rubbed his cheek. "Whatever. You're not that much older than me, Eva.

"Maybe. But on a maturity level?" She stood up straight and scrunched up her nose. "Not even close." Evangeline smiled and set up the game.

The room was small and the roof was low. The doors slid and were open, revealing a kitchen across the hall where a tall, blonde man in his late 20s in a kimono sat at a table with another girl. She had short, curly, dirty blonde hair and fringed bangs. She was short and a bit full, but graceful. Her casual wear consisted of a pink denim bolero jacket, a lacy camisole, and a wrap skirt and sandals.

"They're at it again…" She sighed.

"Haha…" the man chuckled. He liked moments like this. He hated he would have to ruin it soon. "I'd rather join them."

"Yeah? …Lloyd-sama, your tea." She pointed to it as she put a box of cake away. "It'll get cold."

"Oh! You're right. Thank you, Beth." Lloyd returned to his tea and mont blanc. "I love your cooking." He grinned.

Beth smiled. She was the oldest of his students at 23. She liked him. Sometimes he didn't act his age, but he was wise, if not witty, and definitely the most mature person here, in her opinion.

"Thank you."

Lloyd took a long last gulp of his tea and stood up. He sighed and walked into the doorway of the media room.

"Hey!" he said in his stern voice.

Heads turned and Beth appeared in the room as well.

"Huh?" Kita paused the game.

"What is it?" Evangeline sped over.

"Come on," Lloyd said and motioned for them to follow and went to a room a few doors down.

Confused looks were exchanged, but they complied, knowing this was serious.

There was nothing in the room but a small opening in the middle of the floor, revealing stairs.

"Go."

The three cautiously went below into the next room. Lloyd's face was serious. They hadn't been to this room in a long time. Beth looked concerned. She knew where this was going.

It was seen in a Dream.

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"You all know this room as The Carving. An underground basement in the Monastery filled with computers and equipment. The only other entrance or exit is a tunnel where dragons reside…"

"All basements are underground, Lloyd. Underground basement would be redundant."

"Come on, Nya, let me act cool!"

A woman in her later 30s, in blue cheongsam with long sleeves, at the array of nine monitors at the north wall, listened to Lloyd begin to discus something dire with the young ninjas. She had a robotic right arm and part of her face. She had neat bangs and her hair was carefully tied in a bun at the top of her head. Her eyes faded in and out of life, like she would remember something terrible.

Nya smirked and returned to the monitors where her face became serious again. She entered a command and all nine screens showed a map of the mountains kilometers from the Monastery.

"Anyway," Lloyd cleared his throat. He drew a picture from a drawer on the table. The picture was dark and fuzzy, and the outline of whatever the figure was was barely visible. The only things clear were two glowing red eyes. It was… hypnotic. Judging from the outline, the creature was short and had horns and really wavy, shoulder-length hair… "We can't goof off anymore. No more chasing after criminals the police simply could or investigating haunted schools. Get serious, kids. This is more important than anything ever."

"Get to the point, Sensei," Evangeline scoffed.

Sighing and scratching his neck, Lloyd continued. "I'm sure this is only a minion of Etatum, but they are very powerful."

The four muttered to themselves. "Etatum?"

"For a long time, Life and Death have been in perfect balance. But I noticed s shift. I met Etatum, but he refused to fight me, and it was impossible for me to strike."

Breaths drew in. If Lloyd couldn't do it, Etatum must be seriously strong and cunning. Shivers went down their backs.

"Then Nya and I recruited you four, save for Seff, who was raised here."

They all nodded. They already knew this part.

Beth's eyes wondered the room as Lloyd spoke of his plan to train them and the other three remained stunned. She's been in this room plenty of times before. Her friends haven't. But Beth grew close to Nya. She learned about herself and the people at the Monastery and the enemies and the village.

_ You don't know what this means yet, though._

"I've been training you four, and you've grown strong. As a team, you may be able to defeat Etatum, or at least weaken him. You have learned in a previous experience that you don't work as well alone. From today on, we'll have to get you better prepared for more than just 'the evils of this world'" he quoted himself.

"Soon, you will have to fight the evil of another world."

His words hung in the air, daring anyone to interrupt. Evangeline felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. It was like time itself stopped.

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【Author's Note】

I'm happy with how this is turning out... If you have read this story prior to this chapter, you may be confused. Well, this story is still under development! I changed the basic plot, but the romance part is still the same. The character in the first chapter (to be honest, that was more of a prologue) will be revealed within the next to chapters, or at least that's what I plan. Moving on to how the story is now, and this chapter! Current followers may have noticed that the cover and summary have changed. Now, the story is set in the future! I'm exited. If you have read my friend's fanfic "The New Ninja" or "Lingering Shadows" you're probably wondering what Evangeline is doing here, and why she's one person. And why her hair is red. Because I felt like it. Haha, it's actually a secret! While I plan for her to be the Ninja of Earth as well as the Maid (or a different title, if I find something better fitting) of Time (hint hint!) her color is red. (Well, so is Kita's, but in a different sense.) Now that I think about it, Evangeline is like some sort of combination of Aradia and Sollux from Homestuck... Poor girl's doomed.

I'm going to apologize in advance for the crap load of Problem Sleuth and Homestuck references you may see in this story in the future... I think there will be other references to songs like "Egoselfish" or dating sims by Pacthesis lol. (Love those!) Bah, it's all in good fun! If you guys don't know what those are, you should totally look into them! If you plan on reading Homestuck, you should read until at least Act 2 or 3 if you plan on giving up on it. It's pretty random sometimes, as well as Problem Sleuth, but that's one of the things that makes it super cool! (If it didn't have all those jokes and IRONY stuffed in there, I'd probably cry a lot more reading Homestuck.

That aside, should I say something about Nya? And Beth. Beth is like on of the most important characters. Nya... well, that involves an incident with Evangeline before a time worp. (Oops!) And Etatum. Bluuuuuh that bastard. His henchman is the sweetest thing, though! (I didn't even realize he replaces the kid Lloyd.) Oh, and Seff! It may have been hinted here... But I'll give that cutie a spotlight in a future chapter that revolves more around him and Nya or Eva, whichever comes first.

Also! I hope I get to update more, but it will be balanced with my Harvest Moon fanfiction "Leaving the Wind Behind Us". I may or may not update that first, once I get the chance to write. But updates should be faster than they have been.

I'm doing this, man.  
I'm making this happen. /shot


	4. Chapter 3 Interlude

"Lloyd is foolish, Beth. You know. You saw it in the clouds. You saw it in that stupid toy."

The words slithered and constricted her breath. What the mutant said would sound like gibberish to anyone else, but she unfortunately understood.

She had to tell Lloyd.

"The code… You know only the Lighthouse Witch can save your world."

Ultimately. The Witch still needed the four heroes. And this "world" and his were essentially the same. He knew this. But Beth remained silent in regard to the iron grip on her neck. Of course, it wouldn't matter anyway, _because this wasn't real..  
_

"E…Eta…" she choked.

"What is it? …My little water lily…" He slowly leaned in and planted a cold, burning kiss on her forehead.

_You know very well that isn't my name. _

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"E – Ow! Gh…" Beth rubbed her forehead. She had hit her head on the table next to her bed.

She pulled herself up and looked around. Beth sighed. He sent the message through the Witch. Poor girl must have an awful headache now, but she wouldn't understand. Beth glanced at the table. There was her alarm clock, a pink crystal ball, and a bottle of aspirin.

She reached a hesitant hand over the desk.

"No… That's a cowardly way to ease pain." She muttered, grabbing the crystal ball and hiding under her blanket.

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【Author's Note】

I changed her name to Beth, and this chapter has a lot of foreshadowing, also being super short. I should also say this and the second chapter take place before the first.


End file.
